Clark Asset Management LLC Has $27.33 Million Holdings in Apple Inc. $AAPL

Key Points

• Clark Asset Management LLC increased its Apple stake by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,544 more shares and bringing its total to 100,525 shares worth about $27.33 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Apple remains constructive, with analysts assigning a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.74, while some firms recently lifted targets as high as $400.
• Apple continues to show strong operating momentum, reporting quarterly EPS and revenue above expectations, raising its dividend, and authorizing a new $100 billion share buyback.

Clark Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL - Free Report) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,525 shares of the iPhone maker's stock after purchasing an additional 12,544 shares during the quarter. Apple accounts for about 2.8% of Clark Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Clark Asset Management LLC's holdings in Apple were worth $27,329,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.4% in the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 9,898 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. WESPAC Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. WESPAC Advisors LLC now owns 12,326 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,351,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. American Alpha Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $293,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.3% in the third quarter. Seven Springs Wealth Group LLC now owns 15,451 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $3,934,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Avant Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Apple by 0.9% in the third quarter. Avant Capital LLC now owns 4,814 shares of the iPhone maker's stock worth $1,226,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. 67.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AAPL. Scotiabank set a $330.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $400.00 target price (up from $350.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $325.00 target price on shares of Apple in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $253.00 target price (up from $248.00) on shares of Apple in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Phillip Securities upgraded shares of Apple from a "moderate sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, February 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $308.74.

Key Headlines Impacting Apple

Here are the key news stories impacting Apple this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Apple’s post-earnings rally continues after the company posted record quarterly revenue and EPS, boosted its dividend, and authorized a fresh $100 billion buyback. Analysts say the results support further upside and have raised price targets. Apple Stock Hits All-Time High as Post-Earnings Rally Continues
• Positive Sentiment: Evercore ISI lifted its price target on Apple to $365 and said a bull-case scenario could reach $500, citing compounding growth from Services and Apple’s ability to keep expanding free cash flow. Evercore ISI Hikes Apple Price Target to $365
• Positive Sentiment: Investor sentiment is being helped by reports that iPhone demand remains strong globally, plus Soros Fund Management reportedly boosted its Apple position during the quarter. George Soros’s fund buys Berkshire Hathaway stock — now that Buffett is gone
• Positive Sentiment: Apple reportedly cut iPhone 17 prices in China ahead of the 618 shopping festival, which could help support unit sales in a key market. Apple Cuts iPhone 17 Prices in China
• Neutral Sentiment: OpenAI is considering legal action over its strained ChatGPT partnership with Apple, which adds uncertainty around Apple’s AI strategy and could weigh on sentiment if the dispute escalates. OpenAI explores legal options against Apple
• Neutral Sentiment: Reports that Anthropic’s Mythos AI found vulnerabilities in Apple’s macOS/iOS are a reminder of ongoing security scrutiny, but the news is more reputational than fundamentally financial for now. Anthropic's Mythos Helped Find Bugs in Apple's Desktop Operating System

Insider Buying and Selling at Apple

In related news, insider Ben Borders sold 1,274 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.00, for a total value of $369,460.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,713 shares of the company's stock, valued at $11,226,770. This represents a 3.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Timothy D. Cook sold 64,949 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $254.23, for a total transaction of $16,511,984.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,280,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $833,980,668.14. This trade represents a 1.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 97,759 shares of company stock valued at $24,964,305 in the last ninety days. 0.06% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Apple Trading Up 0.7%

NASDAQ AAPL opened at $300.23 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $265.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $267.48. The company has a current ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $4.41 trillion, a PE ratio of 36.30, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.06. Apple Inc. has a 12 month low of $193.46 and a 12 month high of $303.20.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The iPhone maker reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $111.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $109.46 billion. Apple had a net margin of 27.15% and a return on equity of 146.69%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Apple Inc. will post 8.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Apple Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 14th. Investors of record on Monday, May 11th were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from Apple's previous quarterly dividend of $0.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 11th. Apple's payout ratio is currently 13.06%.

Apple Profile

Apple Inc NASDAQ: AAPL is a multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, founded in 1976 by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Ronald Wayne. The company designs, develops and sells consumer electronics, software and services. Over its history Apple has evolved from personal computers to a broad portfolio that spans mobile devices, wearables, home entertainment and digital services.

Apple's principal hardware products include the iPhone smartphone, iPad tablet, Mac personal computers, Apple Watch wearable devices and a range of accessories such as AirPods and HomePod.

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